Laughter
by DragonGamer0713
Summary: Rule Three of the Rules of Love series. Two childhood friends and Dragon Riders, separated by their adventures, reunite and think back on their past and how far they've come. Dragon Rider OCs. NOTE: NOT MY BEST WORK!


Laughter

The Spine. What a dastardly place for training. Ragged mountains and thick forests make it a dangerous spot for any human to trek through. However, poor villagers are desperate enough to go venturing into the perilous area for hunting game to eat, sell, and trade.

"Many have died here…but that won't be me," a young man smirked from under his hood, his crystal-blue eyes glowing in the shadow.

_Young blood, you're too cocky_, a strong, female voice emerged.

A very strong gust of wind blew from above, the hood flying off and the cloak flaps swirling around being caught up in the wind. He smirked as he looked up, his mop of golden blonde hair blowing madly around. His gaze landed on a large figure hovering down from the tops of the trees, landing on its back paws, its hind legs supporting its muscular body. It was a purple dragon and the young man was her Rider.

"Oh, I'm the cocky one, Azanme?" he chuckled.

Landing on her front legs, the young man had to drop to the dirt to avoid getting crushed under her scales. _Yes, young blood~_

"Ok, ok, fine."

Suddenly, Azanme looked up and hissed threateningly. The young man rolled from under her scaly belly and grabbed his sword. "Who is it?!"

"Easy there, Dane~" a female voice purred as she called from the top of the trees. Looking up, he saw a young woman almost about his own age, wearing Rider armor, but it was flexible enough to climb trees. With long blonde hair blowing gently in the wind, she smirked down at him, "Is that a way to treat an old friend? Put little Azanme on a leash~"

Dane laughed and gently stroked his partner's neck, "Easy, old girl. Hey, Zora! Where's my kiss?"

"What kiss?!" she barked.

"The kiss you promised me when we separated for training! I've dreamt of this moment~"

_Over my dead body, puny thing!_

Dane blinked, "Oh no…not him."

Azanme sniffed the air and suddenly leaped into the air and brought with her a large orange dragon, slamming it down to the ground. With a growl, the orange dragon looked up at her and began to purr with a smirk on his mug. _Long time, no see, violet one~_

_Fire ball, it's been far too long~_

Zora chuckled, "Hey, Azamne, can you please let Hupskrom up? He's suffering some minor injuries."

"Injuries?" Dane frowned as he looked at the orange male dragon. "What kind?"

Zora jumped down and landed on her feet. Walking over to her dragon, she stroked Hupskrom's beautiful sunset scales on his strong neck. "We were working overtime in the mountains and we nearly got buried under rocks. Hups thought fast and protected me with his body, tossing the rocks away, but injuring his back and front claw in the process."

_But it was worth it to protect my Rider_, Hupskrom snorted with pride.

Azamne frowned and began to lick his snout to help him. The big boy purred and smiled at her, gently nuzzling her. _You are very brave, Hupskrom._

"Awww~" Dane cooed, "That's so sweet~ Our dragons get along just fine."

"Well, of course. We get along, so our dragons must get along as well. Hey, why are you here in the Spine anyway?"

"A simple survival trip, that's all."

"Oh, come on, Dane," Zora growled a little, "You can't lie to me. No matter how hard you try, I can read you like a book!"

Dane sighed, "You remain troublesome."

"Always was and always will…towards you."

"You know there's an old saying. If you constantly tease someone, that means you deeply like that person~"

Zora snorted, but couldn't stop the blushing in her cheeks, "Oh shut up, Dane! We grew up together, fought together, and became Dragon Riders together. We're practically siblings!"

"True, but still~"

Zora playfully shoved him away, walking to the dragons. Azanme looked up and saw her approach. _Zora, will he be ok?_

"You truly care for him, don't you, little Azanme?"

_Yes, I do. I want him as my mate._

_Mate?!_ Hupskrom looked up with a yelp. _I think I'm still too young for that yet, but I can definitely have you in the future…as long as Dane and Zora get together~_

Zora blushed, "Hell no."

_Oh, that's too bad. You know, Zora, Dane's been thinking about you every chance he gets~_

Dane over-heard his dragon's thought and yelped in surprise, "Whoa! Hey, Azanme! That's enough!"

Zora smirked at the male Rider, while his dragon continued to swoon for her master, _He's always wondering about you~ He even whimpers your name in his sleep~_

"SHUT UP!" he barked, slapping her scaly neck to get her to remain quiet. However, it backfired, hurting his hand more than her neck. "Yeow!"

_Young blood, you are so brash._

"Oh, shut up…" he grumbled.

Zora giggled cutely, seeing Dane lose his cool.

While Dane was the cool guy, Zora was the bad girl. Always getting into trouble over everything, Zora was abused by her drunken mother, while her stepfather watched with very little interest. She took her frustrations and loneliness on her classmates and neighbors like a cry for help. While she became a reckless one to the other students, it was Dane that found her amusing and cool. Thanks to their "contrasting" personalities, the two began a friendship that refuses to let up.

Growing up, he became her outlet. When she needed someone to talk to or vent her frustrations, Dane was the first to take her side and help her. And the rare moments where she cried, he was there to embrace her and show that she wasn't alone.

In fact, when he saw bruises on her body, not even she could stop him from knocking her mother's lights out. Then Dane was rewarded with a black eye from her stepdad. However, he didn't go down without a fight, earning Zora's deepest respect…and love in the process.

When the Dragon Riders came into Feinster one day, the two were amazed to see such brilliant creatures. In fact, they rushed towards them and nearly got attacked by one, fearing an attack. Thankfully, the dragon calmed down and noticed the two kids. His Rider wasn't very thrilled to see children hanging all over his dragon, so he tried to shoo them away. His partner, a female Rider, noticed one of the dragon eggs they were carrying beginning to move. She stopped his snarling threats and brought the egg to the two kids. In Zora's hands, the egg with color as bright and beautiful as the golden orange sun, hatched into a male dragon chick.

"Wow! You're the newest Rider, kiddo!"

She held the baby dragon in her arms and looked down at him, amazed that she was now a Dragon Rider, thanks to this little creature in her grasp. He looked up at her and with bright golden eyes wide, he examined her. "I'm…a Rider?"

"Give him a name," the female Rider encouraged.

"Err…what kind of name?"

She chuckled, "My dragon's name is Quertonzo the Swift." Quertonzo purred lowly, his dark green scales shining in the sun, looking down at his master. She smiled and rubbed his snout sweetly, "You're an excellent dragon, Tonzo."

The hatchling looked at the giant dragon and barked at it curiously. Quertonzo walked over to the new Rider and lowered his head to the hatchling, sniffing him. _May I suggest a name, young one?_

She yelped, "He-He talked!"

"No, he spoke to you with his thoughts. Dragons have this ability with Riders. He's offering you help."

"Y-Yes, I want to hear the suggestion, almighty Dragon."

_Hupskrom the Flame._

"Ooh, I like it!" his Rider smiled.

Zora smiled, "Me too." Looking down at her new dragon chick, she smiled, "Hey there, Hupskrom."

_That was a great day. Meeting my Rider for the first time,_ Hupskrom smiled as he closed his eyes.

Azamne purred, _Remember when I hatched?_

Dane smiled, "I do. It was years ago."

Dane was always a cool kid; he was the one other guys looked up to and had the girls crawl over him. However, when he wasn't cool, he was a clutz and goofball. Only Zora was allowed to see him like that, despite how much it hurts his pride.

The two of them grew up together in Feinster, loving the water and the earth around them. Being outdoor kids, they both had their fair share of cuts, scrapes, bruises, broken bones and near death experiences. Despite the blood and dirt shared between them among their adventures, they never shied from danger.

When Zora was a brand new Dragon Rider, she was taken away for a short training brief with her new dragon. Dane was left alone in Fienster, already missing his best friend. Time away from her made his view on her blossom to something much stronger than he ever thought possible. Still, his cool personality made it seem more teasing than loving.

When she came back with a dragon the size of a regular-sized dog, Dane couldn't be happier. However, she too changed towards him. No longer weak, she was firm and strong, making her the girl of his dreams, but also in his nightmares. What if she was the dominant one in a possible relationship? He doesn't want to be the bitch!

Hupskrom snorted as he studied Dane with a sharp eye. _Master, I don't trust him._

"Easy there, Hups. He's my best friend, Dane," she smiled, gently petting the top of her dragon's head.

_Dane. That's his name?_

"Yes."

_He's too cocky and brash and I don't like him._

She giggled, while Dane was lost. "How can you understand him?"

"We can read each other's minds."

He blinked, "That's awesome."

She smirked at him, "He doesn't like you."

Dane smirked, "Oh is that so?! Yo, bag of scales, I don't like you either! What do you say about that?!" His mistake is that he got up near Hupskrom, so the dragon growled a bit and snorted hot air into his face as a warning. He leaped back with a yelp, while Zora laughed her ass off. "He tried to light me on fire!"

"He's too young!"

"He's dangerous! Put him on a leash!"

The female Rider continued to laugh as her best friend panicked over his non-existent near death experience. Man, she's missed him a lot. "Be nice, Hups."

_No promises…_

Finding Azamne's egg was completely by accident. With Huspskom walking behind them, Zora and Dane were walking along the shore of the beach, talking and catching up, when Dane tripped over something hard covered in sand. He fell into the tide, making Zora giggle while helping him up. "Ow…"

"Are you ok?"

He looked up and smiled a little, "Yeah, I'm fine. What did I trip on?" Looking back, he kneeled in the sand and noticed the oval looking object covered by muddy sand. "Weird." As he reached over to dust it off, it began to move violently. "Whoa!" Zora gasped a little, Hupskrom growling at it for a moment. Suddenly, the thing shattered, a little creature wiggling around on its back, trying to obtain it's footing. With a cute squeak, it finally rolled over and looked at Dane with big deep purple eyes.

Zora beamed, "It's another dragon!"

Dane's eyes widened as a smile spread across his face, "A dragon? My own dragon?"

"Give her a name!"

"How do you know it's a girl?" Dane asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Because one, I saw what she's got, and two, Huspskrom is very interested in her." The orange male dragon sniffed her sweetly, while the purple female looked at the giant creature with fearless curiosity. With a chirp, she licked his snout, making him snort and toss his neck coyly. "Aww!~" Zora cooed, "His first kiss~"

"Cute, I will admit that." Dane looked at her and smiled at his dragon, "What's a good name for you? Hmm…I like Azamne."

"Ooh, where did that name come from?" she asked.

He chuckled, "I was reading a book while you were away and the main girl was named Azamne."

"You?! Dane?! Reading a book!?" she was legitimately shocked, but it was in a teasing tone as well.

"Shut up or I'll tackle you into the water while the sun sets and kiss you!" Dane threatened with a bright blush in his cheeks.

Zora's dragon's ears perked up at the male's words and he growled, _Over my dead scaly body!_

Zora blushed heavily and giggled, "Come at me, bro~ I dare you!"

_WHAT?!_

In a flash, Dane tackled her into the tide, both of them laughing hysterically as best friends do. Zora giggle-snorted, making Dane laugh even harder, "Oh, my sides are hurting! Damn you, Zora!"

"Damn you too!"

Able to quell his laughter for a couple of moments, he leaned down and kissed her on the nose in a friendly, but still very sweet way. She blushed as she looked up at the boy who was her best friend in the world. "Hey, Dane, I need to say something to you."

"What?" he asked with a smile, the sunset highlighting his handsome features.

She was about to say it, but suddenly a blur of scaly orange made her quickly change her mind, "Hups is about to kill you!"

"Huh?!" Dane blinked.

The dragon knocked him off of his Rider and growled at him. _I warned you!_

Zora facepalmed, "Oh boy…"

The new baby dragon whimpered as she hopped over to her human master, hoping to help him by biting Huspskrom's heels and clawing at his tail. The bigger dragon grunted as he focused his attention on his little mini confronter, which he found very amusing and cute. With a gentle shake of his hind claw she was attacking, she grunted and leaped for his tail, sinking her teeth into the scales, making him yelp, not in pain, but force.

Dane slid away from the dragon and chuckled, "She's going to save my life one day."

_And I surely did. You don't know this, Zora, because he didn't want you to worry about him, but Dane was ambushed by several Orcs a month or so ago._

She gasped, "Are you serious?!" Dane looked away, while the female Rider gripped his arm when he tried to make a run for it. "Please continue, Azanme."

_I come screaming out of the sky like a purple comet and exhaled so much fire that Dane would've been toast too if he didn't get out of the way. What happened next was straight out of a super soldier book. I landed, swinging my tail and wings, keeping my neck low as I attacked, while Dane, although wounded, leaped over my form at all angles, slashing and swinging his sword like an expert slayer. However, among all of the carnage and ashes, both of us were too tired and battered to travel, so we had to set camp back home._

"Thanks, Azamne…" Dane frowned, looking down, ashamed and terrified of her expression.

"Dane, I oughta kill you for trying to kill yourself. You mean the world to me!"

Dane blushed, but also flinched, "Zora…"

"Dane, I love you more than I'd like to admit. We grew up together, you're my only human friend, and you knocked out my mother when I needed you to."

"I love you too, but that goes without saying. And for the record, I'll knock your mother out anytime~"

She giggled a little, "I think I can do that myself now."

"Aww!" he pouted, "Then what am I good for now?"

She laughed and purred into his ear, "Love-making~"

His face bright red within seconds, he yelped as he lost his footing and slipped onto his ass onto a lucky patch of moss. Zora burst out laughing, while the dragons laughed as well, Azamne amused by her Rider's sheepishness. _Young blood, you need better boots if you keep slipping._

_Trust me, it's not the boots_, Huspskrom snorted, licking Azamne's snout sweetly. _I needed to get that kiss out of my system. Who knows how long it'd be before we see each other again._

_Fireball, at the rate those two are going, I think they'll stay together for now on~_

Rule of Love:

Kiss on the Nose=Laughter

July 2014


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